Today will be a defining moment for our nation and for small business. Tonight the House will undertake one of the biggest votes in the history of our country. They will vote on a health care bill that is over 2,000 pages long. It is also likely that no one voting on it has read it in full.
Representatives will negotiate and horse trade up to the last second. Some will give their yes vote for promises backed by executive orders, others will trade their votes for deals that benefit only their constituents, others will vote the party line and some will actually vote their consciences. They will vote on a bill that currently is estimated to cost almost a trillion dollars. Let's be honest, the number will surely grow from there and in the end will cost significantly more. Who is going to pay for it?
As business owners, we all agree that rising health care costs are killing us and something needs to be done. As American's we all agree that some type of reform is needed. So the question becomes, is this the right reform? Health care reform should not increase the cost of doing business, it should lower costs. Will this bill do that? Many experts don't think so, but time will tell. Agree or disagree we will surely look back on today as a defining moment. Let's hope the moment is positive and it doesn't negatively impact our ability to be successful business men and women going forward. Only time will tell.